complete bay area news coverage, starts right now, this ktvu channel 2 news at noon. >> good morning. that three second alarm fires in the last 12 hours. >> fears that a firebug is striking again in the bay area community causing damage and in dangering lives, that is the top story. good afternoon, aim tori campbell. a third suspicious fire

broke out this morning in vallejo, tara moriarty was covering the story all morning and joins us live to explain what they all have in common. good afternoon. >> reporter: good afternoon. police are calling this guy a serial arsonist and he shows no signs of slowing down. we are here in front of where police believe he last struck, a house across the street from the vallejo police department. it was firefighters third call in about a 12 hour stretch. >> scary, because i slept through the whole thing. >> reporter: lori lives nearby the latest fire that broke out in a vacant office building around 7:30 this morning there. >> you don't see anybody on the streets after 8:00. more like we are under marshal law right now. >> fire investigators have been working with police to catch the person they believe is stop for setting 30 fires over a six to eight month timeframe within a half-mile radius. >> these fires have been kind of similar patterns in terms of

vacant buildings, usually set from the exterior but again we have a task force investigating them at this time. >> officials say the arsonist struck an empty house there after 8:00. no one was hurt. then less than seven hours later another fire three blocks away at the village cocktail loungee there. >> the majority have been happening at dawn, early morning, but it has been varying lately, we get them in the evening and then you know 8:00 to 9:00 at night and some around this time and again around 6:00, 7:00, 8:00. >> reporter: now, this man lives near the police department and says someone set a fire in his bathroom last week and unhooked a gas line so the house would explode. fortunately there was just minor damage. investigators say just blocks away a victim victorian fire was left on fire and this was the 4th time someone has tried to burn down the bar. police have a vague description

but only that he wears a hoodie. with neighbors on edge they are hoping someone comes forward with more information before he strikes again. tara moriarty, ktvu channel 2 news. >> also a busy morning for firefighters in san francisco, in 14 minutes you will hear from a man who had to make a frantic escape from an apartment building. we are following breaking news out of oakland, where authorities say a worker at a plastics company has been killed. it happened just after 9:30 this morning at super links plastics on 92nd avenue. you are looking at the view from news chopper 2 over the scene right now, these are live pictures. initial report say the worker was crushed by a forklift and was pronounced dead at the scene. see patrol cars there and others under the building. the oakland tribune says they are investigating. protesters disrupted a uc regents meeting in san

francisco this morning to push back against plans for fee increases. new at noon ktvu's alex savidge joins us to let us know if it stayed peaceful. good afternoon. a uc police officer told me things were generally peaceful this morning even as a group of protesters disrupted the uc regents meeting going on here. you can see officers still standing by, barricades still set up. demonstrators are angry over a proposed fee increase or multiple fee increases for students already factored into next year's budget. a group of about 100 protesters, most of them students were kept behind barricade this morning after they cleared out the room. about a dozen proterses stood up and shouted and were escorted outside.

the meeting dealt with next year's budget. it did resume later. protesters say they want the regents to drop plans for any new fee hikes. >> the state of california is not broke for education, the money is just being poor leal lo indicated because it makes mofny for the regents in there. >> one fee that has been discussed of late would target graduate students working toward professional degrees at awe c school. but on the governor's recommendation the regents have delayed a vote on that particular fee increase, the governor felt it was just the wrong time after prop 30 passed on election day restoring some funding to the uc system. >> there were no tuition increases here, nothing on the agenda today about any system- wide tuition increase for undergraduates and the item having to do with professional degree supplemental fees is put

off to a later date. >> reporter: throughout the morning proterses continued to march through the streets here around the ucf campus with police officers keep in watch throughout that time. the meeting has since resumed. i did just get an update from the san francisco police department. their spokesman. i asked about arrests that happened this morning. he told me there was one demonstrator arrested, that person was cited and released, arrested for hitting a passing car during this morning's protest. live this afternoon in san francisco, alex savidge, ktvu channel 2 news. >> thank you. bp has confirmed it has agreed to pay 4.5 billion dollars for the 2010 oil spill in the gulf of mexico that killed 11 workers. the settlement total of $4.5 billion will be paid over five years and includes nearly $1.3 billion in criminal fines, the largest such penalty ever,

along with payments to several government agencies. bp pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct and a felony count of obstruction of justice, in addition federal grand juries have indicted two bp supervisors on 23 counts of criminal wrongdoing, including manslaughter. a hearing in san francisco this morning focused on whether oil companies manipulated gasoline price hikes in may and october here in california. a state senate committee is looking into an organ researcher's claim shell's martinez refinery and chevron's richmond refinery were actually producing gasoline during a time when industry analysts blamed higher prices on refinery shut downs. he based his findings on data filed with environmental regulators. other analysts say how refineries report shut downs deserves investigations. >> if they release news in regards to supply or how their

plants are producing gasoline if there is an accident, is that actually the case or are they using it to bolster their margins? >> a spokesman for the industry says refine ears have been investigated repeatedly and the change in gas prices has always been found to be the result of market forces, not manipulation. and shell sent ktvu a statement late this morning in response to the oregon researcher's report, in part it disputed the claim that shell said its refinery was shut down. " this report is in error, certain units were down for maintenance at the facility but we were still able to operate and produce product." more on this on today's hearing on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. hoss hostess says all 17,000 of its workers may be out of a job if striking bakers don't return to work this afternoon. the company that makes twinkies wonder bread and other popular

products warns it will file for liquidation tomorrow if employees are not back at work by 2:00 this afternoon our time. hostess filed for bankruptcy all january. all plants could be shut down by tuesday if the court approves the request. hostess has 17,000 workers across the country including the bay area and other california locations. a major united airlines computer problem that cosed worldwide flight delays this morning appears to have been fixed, the system-wide outage around 7:00 a.m. left thousands of united passengers stranded at airports around the world. ten flights delayed at sfo but according to an airport spokesman things are back to normal. >> this is not affecting anything related to reservations, boarding flights, seating assignments, nothing of that nature, more specific to cargo loading on some flights. >> this is at least the third major computer outage for united since june. president obama this

morning visited the area of new york recoverying from sandy. mr.obama toured a fema center and talked with people who lost homes and loved once, he said fema will handle the recover with but there is a much longer rebuilding project ahead. >> i was speaking on behalf of the country when i said we are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete. and i meant it. so i am going to come back today but i am also going to be coming back in the future to make sure that we have followed through on that commitment. >> mr. obama announced that hud secretary sean donovan will be the federal government's point person for coordinating the rebuilding efforts in new york and new jersey. parents in san jose are shocked a registered sex offender was allowed at their children's school. we will tell you why he was not arrested and more on the sheriff's investigation. >> mark tamayo will let us know when we will see rain today and

he will have specifics on when the main event will arrive in your neighborhood. also ktvu talk wed i talked with the highway patrol on the chase that left a path of destruction in san francisco.

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israel says it is prepared for a significant widening of its attacks on the dpaz a strip which may include a ground invasion if necessary. israel has already launched more than 50 air strikes killing at least 10 people including the military commander of hamas. israel says the air strikes are in response to days of rocket fire out of gaza. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel will take whatever action is necessary to protect its people. hearings got underway this morning in washington, d.c. on the deadly consulate attack in benghazi, the the house foreign relations committee is focusing on what happened before, after and during the attack, it killed chris stephens and three others. david petraeus is expected to

testify tomorrow on that. we have more about a police chase that led to a trail of destruction in san francisco. it started before 2:00 a.m. on interstate 80 and ended in a series of crashes in the mission district. the highway patrol first noticed the suspect, who appeared to be driving under the influence as she drove on the ramp closed for construction, the incident became a pursuit as she drove on to city streets, she struck a parked car and that car hit a man walking with his by cycle. the woman continued to drive and hit another parked car at 17th and mission, that crash stopped her car and she was taken into custody. >> she was ingourd in the collision, minor, she was also taken to the hospital and once she was cleared she was booked into the county jail. >> the suspect is identified as serena barrows, the chp says she has multiple prior arrests

for dui. a homicide investigation in antioch brought out the bomb squad, police were called to a shooting at the apartments there shortly after 9:00 last night. they found a 32-year-old man dead in one of those apartments. they also found something they thought might be an explosive device. bomb technicians from walnut creek were called in but determined the item was not a bomb. parents at a catholic school in san jose are expressing shock this noontime that a registered sex offender was on campus and that church officials apparently knew about it. ktvu's janine de la vega has been investigating it and tells us why he was not arrested. >> reporter: as children were being dropped off at the school news was circulating among the parents that a registered sex offender had been on campus. the sheriff's department confirmed mark christopher gurries had volunteered at a school festival last no. >> we are scared and nervous and we just want some answers. >> authorities say a parent

recognized gurries because he used to be a parish near but also knew he was a sex offender, that parented alerted a deputy working the event. >> he told the deputy he had a letter saying he had permission, they say he was not arrested because under the california penal code a registered sex offender can be on school grounds if he has written permission from a school administrator. >> i don't want registered sex offenders anywhere near my children and i expect a safe environment when i enroll my child in a private school. >> the sheriff's office has the letter typed on church letterhead but a spokesman who not say who signed it. they are still waiting for them to answer their questions. >> we just want to authenticate it and make sure the person who doctored it, who signed it at the bottom does in fact exist and did give him permission to be on the premises of the school church. >> he was convicted of a lewd and lascivious act on a child under the age of 14.

we went to his address but no one answered. in a statement they told us he is no longer that volunteer and the letter is not consistent with its policies. in san jose, janine de la janine de la vega, a ktvu channel 2 news. >> that was damaged by fire there. firefighters told ktvu the fire there may have started with a heater. residents in the building woke up at 2:00 in the morning and realized they were in the middle of an emergency. >> fire alarm rang and i just -- i got up and got my clothes on and grabbed my dog and come outside. >> the flames got into the wall. one unit was burned. the other 5 units had smoke damage and broken windows. no one was hurt. firefighters are investigating the cause of that fire there. it happened at 6:00 this morning at a home there. the fire was put out quickly. well-known comedian cat

williams is under arrest for hitting a man with the head with a bottle. police say 41-year-old williams assaulted the man in downtown oakland around 8:15 last night. investigators say a fight broke out aboard a tour bus parked outside the courtyard marriott on broadway. williams smashed the man in the head with the bottle, causing lacerations. the victim's name and the cause of the fight have not been released. fans were startled to hear of williams arrest. >> that is pretty surprising. i mean he is pretty big time and i know he is doing the show out here but kind of shocking to hear that from a guy who has a lot to lose. >> cat williams is a stand up comic, rapper and movie actor, scheduled to perform tomorrow night at the oracle arena. ready for crack crab or crab cake? the commercial crab season began at midnight. crabbing is now underway from half moon bay to bodega bay. those crabs will start arriving in bay area markets and

restaurants by tomorrow morning. the crabs will be more expensive this year, selling for a little more than 6 dollars a pound. >> the weather for thursday afternoon nice out there. you may have noticed clouds but temperatures warming up. here is our live camera in oakland, haze out there but still shaping up to be a nice afternoon. still tracking rainfall. the rainfall is not here yet but it will be by late tonight into tomorrow. right now down towards southern california rain showers here, not all this reaching the ground but do have a chance of rain closer to there and l.a. we have a few high clouds with the bulk of the moisture south and west marching closer to our coastline. as far as current numbers, updated for the 12:00 hour, 60s across most of the region, santa rosa 65, mountain view 65, antioch right about 61 degrees. forecast headlines for

today partly sunny skies, mild. tomorrow rain. we will be tracking rain drops as we head into your friday and some occasional showers for your weekend. it won't be rain every hour of the weekend but still some occasional rain clouds pushing through the bay area, so an unsettled weather pattern. for today once again tracking clouds. here is our roof camera you can see the cloud cover in the pacific. our first system moves in late tonight and into friday. now for this evening there is the chance of a few sprinkles but the main action that moves in for tomorrow we could have amounts approaching half an inch in the wettest locations and thin into the weekend a colder system moves in saturday, off and on rain for saturday. we could be tracking possibly heavier cells by late saturday night. here is our forecast model, showing you this, an increase in clouds and rain showers first thing friday morning and into the afternoon hours the chance of a few showers. here we go to friday night. some rain clouds pushing into the region. on saturday unsettled. there is that system marching closer to the bay area by late

saturday afternoon and into saturday night. i will hold on to the chance of showers into sunday, primarily just for the morning hours. temperatures this afternoon lots of 60s out there. warmest locations toward morgan hill and gilroy. right around 69. here is a look ahead. your five-day-forecast and multiple rain clouds for friday, occasional rain showers saturday. there will be breaks in the action. a chance of a few showers primarily just into sunday morning and then maybe a few more sprinkles for the north bay on monday, but tori, this is great news for all the skiers and snowboarders heading to lake tahoe, more snow expected there as well. >> the head coach of the 49ers have been rushed to the hospital with a heart problem. we are working on that. details for you just ahead. you may have seen an air ship hovering around the bay area for years. ahead why you will not see it much longer. oñ

stock indices slipping after several big u.s. retailers disappointed investorses with weak profit forecasts, that includes wal- mart, ross and target, apple stocks dropped before they do that. the dow down 59, the nasdaq down 16, the s&p down 5. breaking news to report now, 49ers coach jim harbaugh

is having surgery for a heart problem today at stanford university hospital. the 49ers issued a statement saying coach harbaugh is having a minor procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat. the team says harbaugh is expected to return to practice tomorrow. assistant head coach and special teams coordinator brad sealy is overseeing today's practice and meetings, the news about the coach took many in the 49er's organization by surprise. we are following this story and will have more information on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00. you may have seen this air ship flying over the bay area but the it will be staying on the ground. it has fall in victim to a helium shortage and will need a long-term sponsor to stay afloat. it is known 230 known for that. this could be another big

day for buster posey, the award is set to be announced then. he is favored to win it. besides winning two world series this could be his biggest professional achievement. posey won this year's batting title and come back player of the year and also the 2010 rookie of the year. tonight on ktvu channel 2 news at 5:00, with the first of several storms on their way to the bay area workers are racing against the clock in daily city, what they are doing to shore up a hillside and clean up before the rain comes. thank you for trusting ktvu channel 2 news, we will see you the next time news breaks. send comments to comments@captioncolorado.com captions by terry james, caption colorado, llc. [ female announcer ] welcome one and all

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